


The Overgrown Garden

by piningmck



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piningmck/pseuds/piningmck
Summary: Pearl thinks about the past, and decides to follow a hunch.
Relationships: Crystal Gems & Spinel (Steven Universe), Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	The Overgrown Garden

“Rose, could we talk alone, please?” It was a short period of silence, and gathering strength before the next of many battles, when Pearl walked up to the army’s leader, and her Diamond. 

Rose smiled. “Of course.” 

They made their way to one of the base caves dug and carved out by several gems of different stature, including Bismuth. Rose put out the “Meeting in session, do not disturb” sign out on the front. When they were alone, Rose began to get cuddly. 

“What can I do for you?” Pearl giggled, blushing, but came to her senses and gently pushed Rose away, who pouted. 

“I was thinking about our current numbers, and I came to a realization.” Rose cocked her head to the side. Pearl began pacing. “I wasn’t with you when Blue and Yellow Diamond told you about getting… to come here. From what I remember, you came from The Garden, right?” Rose was silent, but her happy demeanor fell into something serious, and sad. 

“Pearl-”

“Now, I know I’ve only met her a few times, but that Spinel, her position was always there, wasn’t it? 

“Pearl, I don’t-”

“It might be a long shot, but if we can sneak into the Garden, we could see if she’s there, and recruit her to our caus-”

“Pearl!” Rose grabbed Pearl’s wrist. Guilty about the shock she caused on Pearl’s face, Rose loosened her grip to hold Pearl’s hands in her own, and smiled. “You love to go on, don’t you?”

“I… I-”

“Listen, I hear you, I think it’s a good idea.” Pearl was about to speak again, but Rose interrupted. “But you know what she’s like. She won’t want to fight, I don’t even know if she’ll be able to learn  _ how _ . She’s even more of an opposite to a fighter than you were. If we make her join this war now, she might not make it out alive. I can’t do that to her, Pearl.”

\------

Pearl caught herself in her temple room, reminiscing about Rose once again. It was all she could do these days, now that she was gone. Replaced by… No, that’s too rude. Gone because of- no, that’s even worse. She gave up her life for this boy, half human, with her gem in his stomach, a part of him now. Anyways, she caught herself because of the memory she ended up thinking about. Spinel… That funny gem. “Born” to play, and be Rose’s best friend. 

She wondered how that funny gem was doing. She assumed Rose had her reassigned before their plan fell through. She would’ve had to. They’d converted so much of her court, she wouldn’t just leave one of her own, someone so important, in that Garden. Right?

Pearl caught herself suddenly walking towards the door to the temple. No, there was no need to overthink it. Even if Rose did forget, the other diamonds surely would have remembered, right? They had communication access to the Garden, they built that garden. They would have seen her. They would have brought her back.

Pearl was back in the temple now. The warp pad was in the middle of this new home, just started being built. They finally had supplies shipped in. 

“Yo, what’s up Pearl?” Pearl jumped. Amethyst was somehow so sneaky at night. 

“Amethyst, don’t sneak up like that.” She only laughed in response. Pearl regained her composure. Should she tell her? Maybe not everything. “I’m going out to… scout for more corrupted gems. I’ll probably be a few hours. Maybe more.”

Amethyst shrugged, only slightly concerned. “Want help?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I might not even find anything.”

“K, see you later,” Amethyst said, going into her room. Pearl sighed. She stepped onto the warp pad. This was only to check. She wouldn’t find anything. It might not even reach that far. Plus, these warps don’t exactly have a travel history. Even if she was caught, she might not be tracked back to Earth. This was just a check. To prove she was right. 

Light filled her vision. She forgot how long trips this far out always took. She landed, facing the outer reaches of space. She was afraid to turn around, to face the Garden. She stood there, for minutes, that felt like hours.

“Uhh… Hello?” Pearl didn’t turn, but she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, nearly in tears now. Slowly, she turned around.

And there she was. Spinel, standing perfectly still, in this overgrown garden. Pearl went down the stairs, moving closer. 

“Spinel? Is that… Really you?” Pearl couldn’t hide the horror from her face. Rose really did leave her here. “But, why?”

Spinel squinted as Pearl moved closer, and smiled with a realization. “Pearl!” She said, arms opening wide, but not moving from her spot. It actually looked like she was stuck to it. “Golly gosh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Did you get a new look? Gotta say, Not a huge fan of all the blue, but that’s just a personal preference. That star is pretty cool, though! Is that yellow?” Spinel gasped. “Were you… Reassigned to Yellow Diamond? Why’d she change her insignia? That seems pretty weird for the whole design. How-” 

Pearl burst into tears. She wasn’t sure if they were sad, or angry, or both! She had to tell her. Everything! She tried to open her mouth, but her hand closed over it like it had its own mind. This always happened. Why did she have to give that order?

Spinel was silent, then, with a sad, expectant smile, “... Where’s Pink?” Pearl kept trying to scream.  _ She started a rebellion! She faked her death, she is Rose Quartz! _ But her other hand only slapped over her mouth in protest. Spinel started to look a little agitated. “Pearl, I know it’s my whole thing, but I’m not really in the mood for your hand games right now. Where’s Pink? What happened to her?”

“I’m… Trying!” Pearl said, now on her knees, only slightly able to uncover her mouth for a moment. “I can’t!”

Spinel scoffed, nearly in tears as well. “Why  _ not? _ I’ve been here for  _ thousands of years _ , and you can’t even tell me why?” 

“I…” Get your thoughts together, Pearl! Tell her what you can! “I was ordered!” She said, finally able to uncover her mouth. 

“... What?”   
  


“I was ordered to never tell anyone what happened. I  _ want _ to tell you, Spinel. You deserve to know more than  _ anyone _ . But I  _ can’t _ . I  _ physically can’t _ . It was her last order as my Diamond.”

“... Last?” Spinel slowly dropped to her knees, the grass and dirt stuck to her feet pulling and breaking. She crawled closer to Pearl, an angry sadness in her eyes. She held Pearl by the shoulders. “But we were playing a  _ game _ . She’s supposed to come back, and I’ll know which one of us won,” Spinel started choking. “She can’t be- You have to be lying….” Spinel said, breaking down. Pearl reached her hands onto Spinel’s back, trying to at least offer a hug. She had to tell her something. Something about Rose! 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Spinel. She didn’t want to risk your life, she didn’t want you to be a part of this fight, but she left you here and I am so  _ sorry _ .” 

Spinel lifted her head, blubbering. “What do you mean? What fight?” 

Pearl tried to tell her, but just like always, her hand moved towards her mouth. “I-” She huffed. “I can’t tell you the whole truth.”

“... I know,” Spinel said, looking back down, letting go of Pearl’s shoulders. For a moment, she looked curious. “Maybe… We can play a game?”

“Huh?”

“Like.. A question game. Or a sentence game. Or not even a game. If you can’t tell me the whole truth, maybe you can tell me pieces of it. And I can piece it together!”

Pearl thought about it. “That… Might actually work, Spinel.” Spinel looked hopeful. “Let me see. Um.. Pink Diamond got her colony. The Earth.” Spinel nodded. 

“She… was bored, for a while. And then… When the first gems of the kindergarten emerged, she and I went down to.. Say hello.” Pearl paused. She could tell which thoughts would move her hand closer to her mouth, and tried to work around them. 

“Pink.. Loved the Earth. And all the life on it. There was… A… Rose Quartz.” Spinel looked like she wasn’t following with this new character. 

“Rose Quartz… Didn’t approve of the kindergarten.” She put emphasis on the next part. “She loved the Earth, and all the life on it.” Spinel seemed very interested. “Rose Quartz started a rebellion for Earth against Homeworld. Rose Quartz fought for the Earth.” 

“Uhuhh…”

“ _ Pink Diamond _ .. _ Fought for the Earth _ .” Pearl struggled with her hand, even struggled to speak. Spinel gave an “oh!” kind of look, and Pearl thought she might have had it. 

“Rose Quartz got into a fight with Pink Diamond? But why? They both loved the Earth, clearly!” Pearl sighed. 

“Rose Quartz’ rebellion was called the Crystal Gems. I am a Crystal Gem, Spinel.” Spinel seemed taken aback. 

“You… rebelled? But.. Didn’t you love her? Why would you betray her?” Pearl shook her head furiously, unable to say what she wanted to. Spinel noticed there was more to this story, and kept thinking. “Tell me more about these Crystal Gems.” Pearl smiled. 

“That I  _ can _ speak freely about. Rose’s cause-  _ our _ cause, was to free Earth from Homeworld’s rigid system. It was to keep the Earth from being turned into a full-fledged colony. It was also to free  _ gems _ from being forced to live their lives doing the same thing they’re told is their purpose. I was a servant, but thanks to the Crystal Gems, to Rose, to my comrades, I became a fighter. A master of the sword. Our other quartz soldiers weren’t just soldiers in and out of the fight, they were artists, singers, they were able to live their lives the way  _ they _ wanted, not the way they were told they were supposed to be. Everyone fought for the right to live  _ free _ .”

“And.. Pink was against that?”

“ _ No _ ,” Pearl said, almost being stopped by her hand. “Pink  _ loved _ the Earth, and all the life on it. Pink fought for Earth.  _ Rose Quartz _ fought for Earth.” 

Now Spinel looked like she realized. “Pink Diamond… was Rose Quartz?” Pearl felt a curse had lifted off of her. She felt like she could cry. 

“Yes!  _ Thank you _ , Spinel.” Pearl tried to hug her, but Spinel pushed her away.

“Hang on, wait. Tell me more. If Pink was Rose, then… How is she gone?” Spinel gasped. “Did… Did you lose? Did the diamonds shatter her? They couldn’t!”

“No,” Pearl shook her head. “Towards the end of the war, Pink Diamond became tired of trying to play both sides. She was tired of being a diamond entirely. She was tired of shapeshifting. She wanted to be free. Free like the Crystal Gems. So… She pulled me into a plan. Rose Quartz was going to shatter Pink Diamond.” 

“What? How?”

“It wasn’t easy. I had to shapeshift into Rose, while she turned back into Pink. I poofed her, and she left fake shards as I hid her gem.” Spinel was speechless. “And from then on, She officially reformed as Rose Quartz. She didn’t ever have to look like a Diamond again.”

“So.. You won?”

“Yes... “ Pearl became saddened at her memories. Oh, how she tried to repress them. Several layers of consciousness inside her organized mind. “But we also didn’t. To everyone else, the Earth was free. This was a war that had little intervention by the other diamonds. We didn’t expect what would happen next.”

“... What happened.”

“Something… That made me glad you were still here. Rose could only save a few of us. Me, and Garnet. Later we found someone who survived. An overcooked Amethyst. We think she might have popped out after… After the light.”

“The light?”

“It was awful, Spinel. A horrible song, and a blinding light from the outer reaches of space. The damage it did- It’s been thousands of years and we  _ still _ haven’t been able to find all the gems affected by it.”

“Affected by what? What happened, Pearl?”

Pearl didn’t even want to utter the word. “Corruption. Save for me, Garnet, Amethyst and Rose, every gem that light hit was… Corrupted. Their gems were intact but they.. They lost themselves. Their minds were broken, lost, their forms turned into monsters. Anyone left started attacking each other, and us. For thousands of years, the rest of the war was us fighting our own friends, our own family.” 

“Pearl-”

“But you’re here! And you’re safe! And you can join us, on Earth, and never have to come here again!”

“Pearl-”

“And if you still want to play games, there’s a little human boy, his name is Steven, oh Spinel you’ll love him so much, he loves music and games and ice-cream sandwich cats, and I don’t even know what half of those words mean but he’s so lovely-”

“Pearl!” Spinel said, shaking her. “You still haven’t told me how she’s gone.” Pearl didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want to  _ think _ about it. Six thousand years with Rose, and only 3 without. That’s too soon. “Pearl,  _ please _ ,” Spinel begged. “Please tell me why she never came back.” 

“... Rose… Fell in love with a human. She decided she wanted to follow an organic lifestyle, and reproduce. And she did. But she and Steven couldn’t exist at the same time. She gave her life for him. And now he’s a growing, human boy with her gem- and I don’t know if he has her memories but maybe one day, he might have her powers.” Spinel was silent again. Pearl sighed. “I am so, so  _ sorry _ she never came back for you. I’m sorry  _ I _ never thought to look until now. I wanted to believe you were safe from the war, that you were reassigned before it ended, or at least found by one of the other diamonds afterwards.” Spinel’s tears fell silently, along with Pearl’s. “But if you come with me, live on Earth, you’ll never have to be left alone like this, ever again. No one else will play a cruel “game” like this with you. You’ll be  _ free _ , Spinel. So please.” Pearl stood up, and held out her hand. “Come with me, help me tell the others what I couldn’t tell them before.” 

It was silent. Slowly, unsurely, Spinel took her hand, and held it tightly. As tightly as she deserved. Pearl wasn’t going to let go. 

They walked up the stairs of the garden, away, away, up to the warp pad. Spinel squeezed Pearl’s hand. 

“Do you think the others will like me?”

Pearl smiled. “I think they’ll love you, Spinel. It might take them a while to forgive me, though,” she continued, sadly. 

“D-don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you! I’ll tell them how you got all possessed and couldn’t talk at all!” 

Light filled their vision. They didn’t let go of each other’s hands, and finally reached Earth. 

Then daylight came. It was rather close to dawn when she left, and of course, time sometimes gets a little.. Warped, when travelling so far. But she was a bit surprised to see Greg’s van just outside the cave at this time in the morning. Steven was the first one to notice the warp. He waved. 

  
“Hi Pearl!!” He yelled, which was almost a whisper from where they were standing. Steven then noticed Spinel, and shifted his position to be further behind Greg. They met Garnet and Amethyst half way. 

“I predicted Pearl would be bringing someone back,” Garnet said, confused, stoic, but also a little bit relieved. “Garnet, pleasure to meet you.” Spinel noticed both her hands, and gasped. 

“A fusion… That’s-” She looked at Pearl, relying on her opinion. Pearl looked proud at the fact, so she calmed down. “Nice to meet you. I-I’m Spinel.”

“Amethyst, ‘sup?” Amethyst looked more confused, but also somehow more nonchalant.

“And I’m Steven!” A hand suddenly popped up. And then soon retracted once everyone started staring. Greg had carried Steven over, who suddenly became incredibly shy once the attention was all on him. “... Hi. I’m Steven,” he said quietly, holding his hand out for Spinel to shake. Spinel took it gently. Steven’s eyes seem to lighten up. “We’re matching!”

“Matching?” Spinel asked. 

“Yeah, look!” Steven lifted up his oversized shirt to show his gem. “It’s the same colour! We match!” Everyone giggled. 

  
“Yes you do, Steven,” Garnet said, ruffling his hair. 

“Well, by stars. You were right, Pearl. It’s nice to meet you, Steven. I know I’m new here, but... I hope we can be friends.” Steven got excited. 

“Okay!” 

“And you’re… Human?” Greg looked a little embarrassed. 

“That’s me. I’m Greg, I’m his dad. Oh-, you probably don’t know what that means. I’ll teach you about human stuff later, if you’d like.”

“Oh,, uh.. Sure.” Spinel felt so out of place here. “I uh… Feel like I should explain why I’m here.”

“Yeah, and why you haven’t let go of Pearl this whole time,” Amethyst chuckled. 

“Don’t be rude, Amethyst,” Pearl scolded. “And um… Before we explain this… I…” She looked nervously at Greg, who seemed to get the message.

“Yeah, okay,” he sighed. Come on Steven, the gems have to have a private talk. 

“Awww, no fair! I wanna know gem stuff!” Steven pouted in an incredibly dramatic fashion. 

“Well, I-.. Hhnnnn, it’s difficult to say,” Pearl stumbled over herself. Spinel picked up the pieces.

“It’s about... Rose?”

Greg stopped in his tracks. “What?” Pearl continued. 

“Right. It’s about Rose. Greg, I know how important she was to you.. What we’re about to say. I don’t know if Steven should be here. I don’t want him getting too upset. No, that’s not it. I don’t want him seeing you all get upset.”

Greg looked conflicted. Steven looked like he wanted to protest, now that he heard mention of his mother. Greg looked back at Pearl. “Okay,” he said. “Just… Give me a minute, okay? And scooch over, I’ll need to sit on your side.” Within two minutes, unlike he promised, Greg dropped a protesting Steven back at the van, and settled him down by turning on some music and giving him a book, and saying something no one could hear. When he came back, he sat on Pearl’s side, who realized he did it so he could still keep an eye on the boy. 

“Okay,” Pearl said, looking at Spinel, who nodded, tightening her grip on Pearl’s hand. “Now to preface this, I want you all to know I never kept this from you out of distrust, or ill-will, or for any other reason than the words couldn’t leave my lips until now.”

And everyone listened. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know Rose had her reasons to leave Spinel (Probably saw herself in Spinel, thought leaving her behind was like leaving her old self behind, and didn't want to think about the ramifications later on), so I decided to add another fic into the pile of Spinel being found before it's too late.


End file.
